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School District Digital Newsletter November/December 2013

Upper St. Clair SCHOOL DISTRICT

USC Honors Veterans for their Service to our Country

The School District and Township of Upper St. Clair hosted a Veterans Day Observance at the Veterans Monument Park on Monday, November 11. Located adja-cent to the Upper St. Clair Municipal Building, the beautiful and educational park features breathtaking black granite monuments dedicated to each branch of service—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Merchant Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard.

Mr. Brian Schill gave the Veterans Day Address using the theme of “What Does Veterans Day Mean to You?” Mr. Schill resides in Upper St. Clair, spent 20 years in the Air Force and was a pilot with the 171st Air Refueling Wing until his retirement as a lieutenant colonel in 2006.

Students from all three levels (elementary, middle school and high school) attended the observance. The Fort Couch Middle School Band, under the direction of Mr. Glenn Wayland, performed the Armed Forces March.

The High School Chanteclairs, under the direction of Ms. Lorraine Milovac, sang the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America. James Boston, eighth grade student from Fort Couch Middle School, played Taps.

The USCHS Marching Band had the honor of being the first band in the down-town Pittsburgh Veteran’s Day Parade and played the Star Spangled Banner for city dignitaries. Tom Maddigan, high school junior, performed Taps to mark “the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.” Mr. Don Pickell, Band Director and Performing Arts Curriculum Leader, commented, “The band was extremely proud to represent the School District and community of Upper St. Clair!”

Veteran Brian Schill gives the Veterans Day Address at the USC Veterans Monument Park.

Reverend Ronald Weryha (left) and Mr. Ched Mertz, Master of Ceremony, speak to veterans from the Marine Corps League following the observance. Continued on page 5

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Connecting with Dr. O ...

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During the month of November – a time of the year when it is customary to honor our veterans and to take time to give thanks – I had an opportunity to connect with many students and staff members, as well as our local veterans and the community as a whole. Once again, links are provided below to “connect” you directly to my Superintendent’s Link on the District website for expand-ed information.

Superintendent’s Open Mike on School Safety and Security

My thanks to PTA Council for hosting a Superinten-dent’s Open Mike on Monday, November 4, at the Boyce Theatre on the topic of School Safety and Security.

Dr. Sharon Suritsky, Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Joseph Conners, Chief of School Police, and I shared the School District’s approach to safety and security in the schools and introduced the members of the School District’s security staff.

Website Connection Link: http://www.uscsd.k12.pa.us/Page/7064

Security and Transportation Management Restructuring

We recently restructured our security and transporta-tion departments.

School security personnel at USC have expanded coverage over the years from a high school operation to an entire District operation, including additional drills and safety activities at all schools. Mr. Joseph Conners, Chief of School Police, has done an outstanding job over-seeing the expansion of security for the entire District. Effective December 1, Mr. Conners’ title was changed from School Police Lieutenant to Chief of School Police. The School District continues to work closely with the Township Police on safety and security issues.

Management of the School District’s transportation operations has been outsourced to Matthews Bus Com-pany since 2008. Transportation is a large and important operation, which at this time would be better served by being managed in-house. Effective December 1, the man-agement arrangement with Matthews Bus Company was terminated. Mr. Jonn Mansfield assumed the position of Director of Transportation and Mr. Kevin Hillman became the Transportation Supervisor.

Honoring Veterans at Schools and at Veterans Monument Park

Appropriately, the feature article in this eBLAST issue is “USC Honors Veterans for their Service to our Coun-try.” Below is additional information regarding events that

happened in our schools to honor our veterans.

The high school social studies department presented assemblies for the students on Friday, November 8, to honor our Veterans, hosted by high school social studies teacher Mr. Dan Zelenski.

Website Connection Link: http://www.uscsd.k12.pa.us/Page/7066

At the middle school level, Boyce Middle School stu-dents completed an Outreach where they brought in ex-cess Halloween candy. The candy was boxed with letters that have been written by students in Advisor Time and sent to current military members.

Mrs. Rebecca Smith, Elementary Social Studies Curriculum Leader, and Mr. Jeff Leonhardt, Streams El-ementary music teacher, organized one of our Veterans Day assemblies at the elementary level. The assembly be-gan with a local scout troop performing a flag ceremony. The fourth grade chorus and entire student body, under Mr. Leonhardt’s direction, performed songs for the local veterans and a group from the Marines who attended the assembly. Elementary Leadership Academy students greeted the guests, gave speeches and presented tokens of appreciation. A group from the Army Reserves were presented with Hero Packs, which are backpacks filled with items designed to help connect kids with their de-ployed parent through Operation Military Kids.

The School District and Township of Upper St. Clair hosted a joint Veterans Day Observance at Veterans Monument Park on Monday, November 11.

Mr. Ched Mertz conducted the observance where members of the Marine Corps League posted and retired the Colors. Mr. Brian Schill gave the Veterans Day Ad-dress using the theme of “What Does Veterans Day Mean to You?” Mr. Schill resides in Upper St. Clair, spent 20 years in the Air Force, and was a pilot with the 171st Air Refueling Wing until his retirement as a lieutenant colonel in 2006.

Students from all three levels (elementary, middle school, and high school) attended the observance. The Fort Couch Middle School Band, under the direction of Mr. Glenn Wayland, performed the Armed Forces March. The High School Chanteclairs, under the direction of Ms. Lorraine Milovac, sang the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America. James Boston, eighth grade student from Fort Couch Middle School, played Taps.

Website Connection Link: http://www.uscsd.k12.pa.us/Page/7071

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Connecting with Dr. O ... (continued from page 2)

Please join the School District and Township in hon-oring our Veterans and taking the time to offer a special thank you to them for serving our Country.

Special Thanks to USC PTA Council/PTSO for Launching the Online Student Directory

I offer a special thanks to the USC PTA Council and PTSO, and especially to Sylvia Ramos, Directory chair-person, for launching an Online Student Directory. I com-mend them for undertaking the huge endeavor and ask for your patience as they work through and resolve some of the issues. Remember to email uscdirectory@gmail.com with any issues or questions you have regarding the Di-rectory. FAQs and “troubleshooting tips” can be accessed on the PTA Council’s webpage:

http://www.uscsd.k12.pa.us/Page/6659.

Congratulations to our Boys’ Golf and Boys’ Soccer State Champions

I congratulate our High School Boys’ Golf Team and Coach Todd Flynn for winning the PIAA Class AAA Cham-pionship at Heritage Hills Golf Resort finishing with a 302. The team also won its 18th Team WPIAL championship.

Website Connection Link: http://www.uscsd.k12.pa.us/Page/7079 High School senior Grant Engel is commended

for winning the PIAA Class AAA Boys’ Individual Golf Championship title over a two-day competition played at

the Heritage Hills Golf Course in York, PA shooting 74-73-147. With his victory, Grant became the third PIAA boys’ golf champion from Upper St. Clair.

Website Connection Link: http://www.uscsd.k12.pa.us/Page/7078

Congratulations also goes to our High School Boys’ Soccer Team and Coach Uwe Schneider for winning their second consecutive PIAA Class AAA Boys’ Soccer Championship when they beat Conestoga Valley at Hersheypark Stadium by a score of 4-0. Upper St. Clair became the first AAA team to win back to back titles since they did so in 2003 and 2004, putting them fourth on the all-time PIAA boys’ soccer championship list.

Website Connection Link: http://www.uscsd.k12.pa.us/Page/7080

Congratulations to our High School Football Team for an Outstanding Season

I commend the High School Football Team and Coach Jim Render for their impressive 11-0 record as they en-tered the WPIAL Class AAAA Semifinals. The top-seeded and undefeated team had an outstanding season! The team is fortunate to have Mr. Render as their coach, who is the WPIAL all-time leader with 375 coaching victories.

Voices of the Panthers, John Gido and Carl Lindstrom -“Teammate Spotlight”

Our “Teammate Spotlight” this month features two in-dividuals whose voices you may recognize – especially if you’ve been a Panthers’ football fan during the past 50 years! Since 1963 when home football games were played after school on Fridays, retired administrators Mr. John Gido and Mr. Carl Lindstrom have helped fans follow the action as our public address announcers.

Mr. Gido began his career with Upper St. Clair in 1960 as a high school and middle school science teacher. From 1963 until his retirement in 1993, he served as principal of Johnston and Baker Elementary Schools, Director of Curriculum Implementation and Research, Director of Personnel and Supervisor of Curriculum. Mr. Gido began his announcing in 1963. “Back then it was sort of estab-lished tradition that the elementary principals announce the high school football games on a voluntary basis as a way of helping out,” stated Mr. Gido. “I had a lot of inter-est in high school athletics so I continued to do it. This is my 51st year!”

Mr. Lindstrom began his career with Upper St. Clair in 1960 as a physical education teacher at Johnston Ele-mentary School and assistant high school football coach. In 1965, Mr. Lindstrom began teaching 4th grade at Eisen-hower Elementary School and then served as the school’s principal from 1966 through 1975. From 1975 through his retirement in 1992, Mr. Lindstrom was the Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction for math, science and driver education. He also served as the Athletic Director from 1975 until 1980. Mr. Lindstrom began announcing in 1965. “We sat on tables behind the stands on the 50 yard line with portable mikes and hand-held umbrellas when it rained,” stated Mr. Lindstrom. “Eventually we moved across the field when the press box and visitors stands were built.”

I offer my thanks and congratulations to Mr. John Gido and Mr. Carl Lindstrom for serving as the “Voices of the Panthers” for the past 50 years!

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You are cordially invited to the third annual Celebrate Our Schools Gala to be held Saturday, February 22, 2014, from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. at the Valley Brook Country Club, 425 Hidden Valley Road, McMurray, PA 15317.

Hosted by the Community Foundation of Upper St. Clair in partnership with the School District, the Gala will benefit student technology in the schools. According to Superinten-dent of Schools Dr. Patrick O’Toole, “Classroom technology is paramount to advancing the District’s vision of ‘custom-izing learning, nurturing potential and delivering excellence,’ and is essential in fulfilling our mission of providing learning

experiences that nurture the uniqueness of each child and promotes happiness and success.”

In addition to food, refreshments, music and formal pre-sentations, live and silent auctions will be among the eve-ning’s festivities. Guests will have the opportunity to bid on a variety of auction items with a total value of over $20,000.

Last year’s Gala, which raised more than $80,000 for the School District, honored Upper St. Clair High School’s 1988 and 1989 WPIAL Championship Football Teams, includ-ing the 1989 team’s induction into the 2012 WPIAL Hall of Fame.

Donations, gifts and sponsorships are now being actively solicited by USCSD’s Director of Advancement Ms. Sheila Gorgonio. Individuals or companies interested in becoming a sponsor, making a contribution, donating a service or pur-chasing tickets should call Ms. Gorgonio at 412-833-1600 x2826 or e-mail her at sgorgonio@uscsd.k12.pa.us.

Additional information can be found on the School District and Community Foundation of Upper St. Clair web-sites, www.uscsd.k12.pa.us and www.cfusc.org, respectively.

It Is “Time to Party” at the Third Annual Celebrate Our Schools Gala!

2012 Celebrate Our Schools Gala attendees enjoy an evening of fun including auction and prize

presentations, dancing and musical performances.

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The yearlong campaign to raise funds for the USC Veterans Monument Park by the UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY (the official award-winning magazine of the Township and School District of Upper St. Clair) is coming to a close. There is still time to send your contribution in, on or before December 31, 2013. Do-nor names alongside your fam-ily members or other veterans who served will be printed in the Spring 2014 issue of TODAY.

USC Honors Veterans for their Service to our Country (continued from page 1)

The Upper St. Clair High School Panther Marching Band, also known as “The Pride of Upper St. Clair,” performed in the Pittsburgh Veteran’s Day Parade on November 11.

Upper St. Clair Veterans Park, Inc. is a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Give . They Already Did.Upper St. Clair Veterans Park

Donation Form(Clip… Complete… Contribute… Mail… TODAY!)

In appreciation for—name of veteran(s) and branch of military:

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

My Name(s):

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Attach separate sheet of paper, if needed. Minimum requested donation—$7/veteran.

My contribution (check payable to USCVP): $ ___________

Mail form and check to: USCVP/TODAY1820 McLaughlin Run RoadUpper St. Clair, PA 15241

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USC Dominates High School Boys’ Golf Winning Both On and Off the CourseBoys’ Golf Team State Championships

The High School Boys’ Golf Team and Coach Todd Flynn are commended for winning the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort finishing with a 302. Four golfers posted scores in the 70s. Thom-as Steve, who finished tenth in the individual tournament, shot an even-par 71 to lead the Panther PIAA champion-ship. Grant Engel, who won the PIAA individual tourna-ment, shot 75, Corey Wilding a 77 and Patrick McDonnell a 79.

The team also won its 18th Team WPIAL Champion-ship; Grant Engel led all golfers with a 69.

Team members include Zach Barone, Austin Cassidy, Grant Engel, Pat McDonnell, Louis Olsakovsky, Jackson Sandusky, Thomas Steve, Brooks Wilding, Corey Wilding and Nelson Zacur.

Individual State ChampionshipGrant Engel, high school senior, is congratulated

for winning the PIAA Class AAA Boys’ Individual Golf Championship title over a two-day competition played at the Heritage Hills Golf Course in York, PA, shooting a 74-73-147. With his victory, Grant became the third PIAA boys’ golf champion from Upper St. Clair. In addi-tion to earning the Individual State Championship, Grant shot a 3-under-par 69 to lead USC to the WPIAL Class AAA team trophy at Cedarbrook Golf Course when the Panthers won that title by an amazing 30 strokes.

USC Golf Charity Project “Birdies for a Cause” was started by Tim Novic, cap-

tain of the 2011 USC Boys’ Golf Team, to raise money for a specific charity through donations or pledges for every birdie earned during the competitive season.

Last year, Grant Engel continued the tradition and helped to raise $3,400 for Tim’s charity.

This year, Grant again spearheaded the efforts, select-ing a new cause and rallying both the varsity and junior varsity teams to raise money for colorectal cancer re-search and awareness.

More than 120 birdies between the top two varsity golfers alone helped to further the success of the pro-gram. With a goal of hoping to match or beat last year’s contribution, the team raised a total of $8,288!

Congratulations and special thanks go to the Boys’ Golf Team members and Coach Todd Flynn!Coach Todd Flynn (left) presents his winning 2013

PIAA Championship Golf Team (left to right) Zach Barone, Austin Cassidy, Brooks Wilding, Corey

Wilding, Grant Engel, Pat McDonnell, Thomas Steve, Nelson Zacur and Louie Olsakovsky.

Grant Engel takes his shot to become the 2013 PIAA Class AAA Boys’

Individual Golf Champion.

Athletic Director Mr. Matt Mellinger (front left) joins Coach Mr. Todd Flynn (centered behind the check) and proud members of the varsity and junior varsity Boys’ Golf Teams in presenting a portion of the 2013 “Birdies for a Cause” donation to the Vice President of Allegheny General Hospital Mr. Drew Keys. The students shown here include front row (left to right)

Jordan Rongus, Zach Barone, Louie Olsakovsky, and back row Brad Vespa, Jackson Sandusky, Austin Cassidy, Nelson Zacur, Grant Engel, Pat

McDonnell, Thomas Steve, Corey Wilding and Jack O’Leary.

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Book Munchers Club Promotes Reading at Streams

“Fort Couch on the Field” Debuts at Baldwin vs. USC Home Football Game

For several years, Streams fourth graders have had the opportunity to join Book Munchers, a lunchtime book club designed to promote independent reading just for pleasure. Hosted by Streams Elementary enrichment resource teacher, Mrs. Mary Quinn, the Book Munch-ers select a title to read on their own outside of school. It is a great opportunity for students to share opinions, ask questions, compare and contrast texts and explore genres they might not select on their own.

The Upper St. Clair Township Public Library, with the help of librarian Ms. Sheri Huffman, has been an integral part of Book Munchers since its beginning by arranging for multiple copies of the chosen book to be available at the children’s desk for check out.

This year’s Book Munchers group got off to a great start, with over 30 students participating in two differ-ent lunchtime meetings to discuss Anthony Horowitz’s Stormbreaker. Inspired by the recent visit to Fort Couch, the next title is Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: A Bad Beginning. The Book Munchers are looking forward to an exciting year of eating and reading together.

At the Highlanders vs. Panthers home football game on October 11, a new band mentorship/orientation pro-gram, “Fort on the Field,” was initiated. Juniors and sophomores from the USC High School Marching Band were paired with seventh and eighth grade musicians.

The Fort Couch players shadowed their mentors for the evening, played songs with the band in the end zone prior to pre-game, moved to the sideline to watch the band play the Star Spangled Banner and then joined the band on the field for the previously rehearsed USCHS Alma Mater. During the game, the paired groups sat to-gether in the marching band section of the stands play-ing cheers urging the USC Panthers on to victory.

Members of the Streams Book Munchers are enjoying lunch and literature.

Donning their special “Fort on the Field” t-shirt, Fort Couch band members join the HS band on the field in the pre-game ceremony (1 and 2) and cheer in the stands (3) as part of the senior recognition ceremony of the band, cheerleaders and

football players at the varsity football game. Band seniors are shown here with Band Director/Performing Arts Curriculum

Leader Mr. Don Pickell (4).

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Being a Dedicated USCHS Math Teacher Equals a National Spotlight

Mr. Michael Funfar of Upper St. Clair High School has been recog-nized as “One of the 40 Most Influen-tial Teachers Under 40 in America” by Veritas Prep, one of the nation’s larg-est SAT prep providers. This list rec-ognizes some of the most innovative and passionate young teachers who make a positive difference in the lives of American students.

Mr. Funfar was recognized for his creative instructional methodology and commitment to student leader-ship development. He is dedicated to helping students discover the value of mathematics in everyday life and empowering them to take ownership for their learning. “I am always look-ing for ways to make mathematics more accessible for my students and to build meaningful real world con-nections with the material,” he says.

Beyond his work in the classroom, Funfar sponsors the student men-tor program at Upper St. Clair High School and is a facilitator in the Sum-mer Leadership Academy. The Lead-ership Academy, a 2013 National

School Board’s Association Magna Award winner, empowers student leadership at all levels: personal, or-ganizational and global.

“Michael Funfar is one of our many talented and passionate teachers at Upper St. Clair. He is a very positive influence for our students,” stated Dr. Patrick T. O’Toole, Superintendent of Schools.

Posted online on his High School teacher page, he said, “I believe that EVERY student CAN succeed in mathematics. I will work my hard-est to ensure that at the end of the year you have obtained the neces-sary skills to be successful in future course work as well as mathematics in your everyday lives.”

Veritas Prep solicited nominations for this award directly from students. Ultimately, 40 nominated teachers from across the United States stood out for their passion, innovation and effectiveness in teaching.

“Many of us can remember that one teacher who just completely changed the way we looked at the

world,” says Chad Troutwine, co-founder and CEO of Veritas Prep. “As we reviewed the nominations that came in, it was clear that all of these teachers fit that description. We were amazed by the passion that teachers such as Michael exhibit, and we are proud to make him a part of our very first ‘40 Under 40’ list.”

Nationally-recognized high school teacher Mr. Michael Funfar (1) makes everyone feel at home in his “cozy but productive” Algebra 2 and Cognitive

Tutor Geometry classroom (2).

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Boyce and Fort Couch Students Celebrate National Chemistry Week

USCHS Debate Sponsor Is Recognized as a “Gem of a Coach” by Forensic League

Thanks to a Chemistry Week Grant obtained by teachers Ms. Susan

Fleckenstein and Ms. Connie Gibson, forty Boyce and Fort Couch Middle School students attended ChemFest on October 25, in celebration of National Chemistry Week.

The ChemFest celebration and National Chemistry Week were hosted by the Carnegie Science Center and sponsored by Ashland, Inc. and the American Chemical Society.

ChemFest provided students an opportu-nity to discover every-day uses for chemistry with dozens of hands-on exhibits and demon-strations presented by local companies. The students created fruit

batteries, UV active bracelets and homemade electro-magnets, experimented with chlorophyll, learned how to

use coal for energy, and so much more, while interact-ing with professionals working in the fields of STEM — science, technology, engineering and math.

On October 20, Mr. Benjamin Edwards, Social Studies teacher at Upper St. Clair High School, earned the distinc-tion as a second diamond coach in the National Forensic League after earning 3,132.90 points.

The National Forensic League is the honor society for middle and high school speech and debate. Mr. Edwards will receive special recognition at the National Forensic League National Speech & Debate Tournament in Overland Park, Kansas, on June 19, 2014, which draws more than 5,000 students, coaches and parents from across the nation.

A diamond award recognizes a professional career that combines excellence and longevity and is based on coach points received. Coaches receive one-tenth the points

earned by their students and one-tenth of the points earned as a student member of the League. After a minimum of five years as a League member, a coach who attains 1,500 points is awarded a first diamond; he or she receives a second diamond for 3,000 points, a third for 6,000 points, and so on. Five years must pass between each diamond award.

USCHS Social Studies teacher and Forensics coach Mr. Ben Edwards (1) awaits his next class after setting

up several Multi-Cultural Club displays (2) for the International Fair on November 15.

With the theme “Energy: Now and Forever,” (1) Morgan Meddings (left), and Abby Rutkowski, (2) left to right, Christian

Chiu, Jack Myers, and Patrick Joyce, (3) Nicollette DeIuliis, Millena DeIuliis and Anika Sinha explore chemistry and energy

and see how sustainable resources affect the quality of life.

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Lemony Snicket Comes to the Fort Couch Library

High School Boys’ Soccer Team Wins Second Consecutive State Championship

Through the efforts of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Mr. Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, author of the best-selling series “All the Wrong Ques-tions” and “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” visited Fort Couch Library on October 25. Mr. Handler met with 7th and 8th grade Creative Writing Clubs and members of the Popcorn and Pa-perbacks Book Club in a collaborative question-and-answer, video-conference session with at least four other schools in the region.

The students explored and experi-enced first-hand Mr. Handler’s creative writing and love of the written word … dubbed by Librarian Ms. Mary Grace

Kelly as “authentic learning at its best!” According to Ms. Kelly, Mr. Handler “uses vocabulary that is pretty complex without the kids knowing.”

The one-hour event was streamed live on the Internet and placed on the School District website. Students in the High School were among others in the District that “tuned into” the show. Mr. Handler provided tips for “budding writers,” including a recommendation to carry a notebook, like he does, and to “eavesdrop a lot.”

Congratulations are extended to the USCHS Boys’ Soccer Team and Coach Uwe Schneider for winning their second consecutive PIAA Class AAA Boys’ Soccer Championship, beating Conestoga Valley at Hersheypark Stadium by a score of 4-0. Upper St. Clair became the first AAA team to win back to back titles since they did so in 2003 and 2004, putting them fourth on the all-time PIAA boys soccer championship list.

Best known for his work under the pen name Lemony Snicket, Daniel

Handler is an American author, screenwriter and accordionist.

1) The student body and USCHS Drumline gave a rousing send-off to the Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team before leaving on November 15 for the PIAA State Championship Game held at Hershey.

2 A victorious Boys’ Soccer team and coaches celebrate winning their state championship.

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Fort Couch Student Council “Builds Character” While Hosting Conference

On November 1, the Fort Couch Student Council was proud to host the 2013 Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils (PASC) District Three Middle Level Mini-Conference. This year’s theme was “Under Construction: We are Building Character!”

In addition to Fort Couch, the schools that partici-pated included Gateway, Ingomar, Quaker Valley, Com-munity Day School, Pine Richland, Marshall, Dorseyville, Carson, Deer Lakes, and Jefferson. Having such a variety of schools gave the student delegates opportunities to talk to new people and to learn from others’ thoughts and experiences.

The event opened with the theme “Today is the Day” with keynote speaker Ms. Jackie Jaros, guidance coun-selor for the Deer Lakes Middle School and active board member for PASC District Three. She motivated the stu-dents to find ways to “make a difference” as she inspired brainstorming for new ideas and approaches.

After Ms. Jaros’ opening presentation, each delegate participated in two leadership workshops to help build character, teamwork and confidence. The following ses-sions were offered:

• Thinking Outside the Box: The Key to Creativity• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens• Swimming through Insecurities• Beat the Beast of Public Speaking• Put Me Back Together• ROPES Forms

Each workshop was geared towards a specific attri-bute necessary to become a leader. Though each dele-gate was only able to attend two clinics, every school had representatives at each session.

According to Fort Couch Student Council Representa-tive Lauren O’Keeffe, “As a participant in the conference, I learned what it means to be a student council member and a leader in our school and community.”

“I think I speak for all of my fellow student council members when I say it was a truly great experience. Hav-ing the opportunity to meet so many new people and to learn so much was definitely something I won’t forget,” concluded Lauren.

Ms. Kathryn Rummel served as organizer of the mini-conference and Fort Couch sponsor. Among the student leaders involved in the 2013-14 Fort Couch Student Council were 8th Grade Class President Katy Hall, 8th Grade Class Vice President Allison Epler, 7th Grade Class President Sean Martin and 7th Grade Class Vice President Lexi Feldman.

(Article submitted by Lauren O’Keeffe)

Pictured here are the “leaders of the school,” Fort Couch Student Council homeroom representatives and officers, who participated in the 2013 PASC District Three Middle Level Mini-Conference.

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Choir Members Hit New High Notes in History-making October PreludesChoral “Spooktacular”

The week before Halloween is the perfect time to … attend the first an-nual Choral Spooktacular, of course! If trying to find a seat in the stand-ing-room-only crowd at the USCHS Theatre on October 22 was not “scary” enough for the season, how about listening to nearly 600 stu-dents singing such selections as Dry

Bones (Boyce Combined Choruses), Double Trouble and That Old House is Ha’nted (Fort Couch Mixed Group), Not While I’m Around from “Sweeney Todd” and Ghost Riders in the Sky (HS Men’s Ensemble), Autumn Leaves (HS Women’s Ensemble), and The Road Not Taken (Pantheon Choir), as well as cheerier selections from Disney, the musical Oliver, Paul

Simon, and other songs. The program was prepared and conducted by Boyce choral director Ms. Jennifer Schet-ley, Fort Couch choral director Mr. Thomas Hunsberger, and High School choral director Ms. Lorraine Milovac.

The first-time event was a stunning success according to Performing Arts Curriculum Leader Mr. Donald Pickell. “The Choral Spooktacular was a wonderful opportunity for stu-dents and parents to experience what the Upper St. Clair 5 - 12 Vocal Music Department has to offer and to see what the future may hold for them.”

He added, “As we have been doing every year with instrumental students playing in combined elementary, mid-dle, and high school band and string concerts, these singers had the op-portunity to interact with each other, allowing the older students to model their experience, self-confidence and musical achievements and to en-

courage younger students to continue to improve and grow as musicians. Involvement in music is a wonderful way to ease the transition between schools and build each stu-dent’s confidence.”Warming up prior to the

concert are Fort Couch (1) and Boyce (2) singers.

Appropriate for the multi-grade level event, the Pantheon Choir closed the Choral “Spooktacular” with the ever-popular Circle of Life from “The Lion King” by Tim Rice and Elton John.

Continued on page 12

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PMEA Honors ChoirBased on competitive auditions held at Norwin HS

on September 23, members of the Upper St. Clair High School Pantheon Choir and Clarion Choirs were selected to participate in the Pennsylvania Music Educators As-sociation (PMEA) District 1 Honors Choir held on October 25-26. What made this particularly “notable” was that af-ter singing the challenging try-out song, It Is Good To Be Merry by Jean Berger, fifteen USC students out of fifteen – 100% – made honors choir. This also included five first-chair rankings – another first for USCHS!

The 2013 PMEA Honors Choir rehearsed and per-formed on October 25-26 at Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center. Representing USCHS were Ryan Bentley, Lindsay Buono, Devon Garcia, Megan Jones, Hannah Lane, Eliza Luxbacher, Noah Manalo, Meredith McDonough, Ben Nadler, Cassidy Poerstel, Mariya Savinov, Eva Schenker, Jordan Smith, Jonny Summers and Michael Unghajer.

The singers who earned first place and provided the majority of the leadership positions in the choir were Megan Jones, Soprano I (Junior), Meredith McDonough, Alto I (Junior), Hannah Lane, Alto II (Senior), Ben Nadler, Tenor I (Sophomore) and Jonny Summers, Tenor II (Junior).

Please support the choral students by attending upcoming performances:

December 12 Boyce Winter Band/Chorus/String Concert 7:00 p.m. HS Theatre

December 17 HS Choral Concert 7:00 p.m. HS Theatre

January 17 Fort Couch Winter Choral Concert 7:30 p.m. Boyce Theatre

3) Just days after PMEA Honors Choir, USCHS choral teacher Ms. Lorraine Milovac (right) and choral/theater student Hannah Lane, a participant in the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) National Honors Chorus, share a moment with Guest Conductor Rollo Dilworth at the NAfME In-Service Conference held in Nashville, Tennessee.

4) The 2013 PMEA Honors Choir students from USCHS “take five” at the festival to pose for the camera: left to right, row 1 (bottom) Lindsay Buono, Eva Schenker, Megan Jones, Hannah Lane and Cassidy Poerstel; row 2 Jordan Smith, Mariya Savinov, Meredith McDonough, Eliza Luxbacher and Devon Garcia; row 3 Noah Manalo, Ben Nadler and Ryan Bentley; row 4 Mike Unghajer and Jonny Summers.

Choir Members Hit New High Notes in History-making October Preludes (continued from page 12)

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1) Ninth graders Aditi Chattopadhyay, Mahima Reddy, Thomas Vissman, and Yang Zhang shown here (left to right) are the Third Place CalcuSolve winners.

2) Taking a break from the competition are tenth grade participants Amanda Mittelman, Christina Park, Hunter Lantzman and Zach Christiansen.

3) Second place winners in the lower middle school division of History Bowl are Antara Cleetus, Grace Suter, Claire Fennell and Richa Mahajan.

Gifted Students Explore Active Season of Special ProgramsUSC Mathematicians’ Efforts “Add Up” in CalcuSolve Tournaments

Twenty high school students participated in CalcuSolve competitions at Duquesne University’s ballroom early in October. Sponsored by the II-VI Foundation and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, CalcuSolve is both a team and individual math competition that stretches the brain.

Student participants answered questions such as the following:

• Find all values of x for which the expression z = [-x + 10 + (x+2)i](x-i) will be a real number.

• After the king of clubs is removed from an ordinary deck of playing cards, the cards are shuffled and the top card is discarded without its face value known. What is the probability that the next card on the top is a king?

Ninth grade team members included Aditi Chattopadhyay, Mahima Reddy, Thomas Vissman and Yang Zhang. Tenth grade participants were Zach Christiansen, Hunter Lantzman, Amanda Mittelman and Christina Park. The upperclass team members includ-ed Matt Becker, Ananya Cleetus, Brinda Doshi, Doug

Hapeman, Christian Heil, Kevin Monpara, Michael Piroli, Eva Roy, Sriparna Sen, Ben Stalnaker, Tony Wang and Brooks Wilding.

Special congratulations are extended to the third place team from the 9th and 10th grade competition, fresh-men Aditi Chattopadhyay, Mahima Reddy, Thomas Viss-man and Yang Zhang!

The CalcuSolve team facilitators were Ms. Pat Palazzolo and Dr. Tim Wagner.

Continued on page 15

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4) Proud Third Place winners in the upper middle school division of the History Bowl are Jack Pyckowski, Taim Aizooky, Jacob Lantzman and Jack de la Parra.

5) Special congratulations are extended to sophomores Gaurav Bhushan (right) and Ben Spock (left) who were recipients of the Clarke Thomas Memorial Award for “Best Position Paper,” a first place award at the Model United Nations Competition. Gaurav and Ben wrote from perspective of Germany as they served on the World Health Organization committee.

6) Members of the USCHS Model UN team are (sitting, left to right) Eliana Ondrejko, Amna Amin, Raga Desari, Misha Rameswarapu and Christina Park; (standing) Ben Spock, Rishabh Kewalramani, Ben Stalnaker, Gaurav Bhushan, Younos Manfoud, JP Miller, Brian Tsui, Hunter Lantzman and Chase Miller.

Gifted Students Explore Active Season of Special Programs (continued from page 14)

Model United Nations Simulations Offer Enhanced Global Awareness

On November 8, fourteen high school students at-tended the Model United Nations simulation experience at the University of Pittsburgh. This year, the team repre-sented Germany. Each of two students represented sev-en UN committees, from the World Health Organization to UNESCO to the Security Council.

As part of the preparation for the simulation, students had three enriching experiences. In mid-October, Eliana Ondrejko arranged a Skype meeting with family friends in Germany and then consultants from Global Solutions Pittsburgh came in for a lecture on the UN and this year’s simulation. On October 21, USCHS hosted Frau Baird’s German exchange students. High school students were able to interview these native Germans to hear their per-spectives on a variety of issues. Their insights were in-valuable on many of the issues that students discussed and debated at Pitt in November.

Team members included Amna Amin, Gaurav Bhushan, Raga Desari, Rishabh Kewalramani, Hunter Lantzman, Younos Manfoud, Chase Miller, JP Miller, Eliana Ondrejko, Christina Park, Misha Rameswarapu, Ben Spock, Ben Stalnaker and Brian Tsui. Team mentors were Ms. Pat Palazzolo and Dr. Tim Wagner.

Middle School Gifted Students Know That “History Matters!”

The annual History Bowl sponsored by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit was held at the Senator John Heinz History Center in association with the Smithsonian Institute on Friday, November 1.

This year, students from both Boyce and Fort Couch participated in the day of historical critical thinking, ex-ploring and inquiring. Students were challenged to find answers to history questions, think and write creatively and practice their problem solving skills as they explored the exhibits at the Heinz History Center.

History Bowl team mentors were Ms. Sue Fleckenstein, Ms. Connie Gibson and Dr. Tim Wagner.

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More “Panther News” from USC Schools ...• Special thanks and recognition go to Human Re-

source secretary Ms. Tiffani Suriano for designing the new eBLAST logo.

• Ms. Joanna Darakos organized a district staff talent show on November 7 with proceeds benefiting an-nual scholarship funds.

• Supervisor of Middle Level Education Mr. John Rozzo and Fort Couch Principal Mr. Joe DeMar trav-elled to Washington, DC in November to be present-ed with the National Blue Ribbon Award earned by Fort Couch.

• Ms. Christine Hestwood, music teacher at Baker, co-conducted this year’s All-Star College Choir, which sang with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Brian Stokes Mitchell in four Pops concerts at Pittsburgh Heinz Hall.

As displayed on the walls of the Social Studies Department and presented during its HS Veterans assembly on

November 8, the high school honored current and retired school staff members who served in the Armed Forces,

including Mr. Ed Callahan, Mr. Bill Jordan, Mr. Roy Legacy, Mr. Michael Linder, Ms. Christine McCown, Mr. Gary

McCullough, Mr. Fred Peskorski, Mr. George Salamacha, Mr. Tom Smedley, Mr. Rob Sully and Mr. David Walk.

• The Pennsylvania Donald Eichhorn “Schools to Watch” visiting evaluation team observed Boyce and Fort Couch staff and students on October 4 and 5 for possible re-designation of this prestigious award.

• On October 24, to benefit Children’s Hospital, the HS Interact Club hosted the second annual Hallow-een Party for children of the community and children of District staff members, offering crafts, popcorn snacks, apples and apple cider and airing the video “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”

• The USC Cross Country team hosted a guest speak-er via video chat on October 18. Two-time Olym-pian Elva Dryer shared the path that running took her through life and fielded questions from the USC coaches and athletes about her career, tips for men-tally preparing for “big races,” dealing with injuries and how to progress as a runner.

• Students in the 7th grade language arts classes of Ms. Erin Nanci wrote and illustrated their own chil-dren’s stories and, on October 30, shared them via videoconferencing with elementary classrooms from Duquesne City and Brentwood School Districts. This provided an amazing connection between diverse ages and diverse backgrounds and a creative con-nection that helps USC students meet educational goals of our curriculum.

• At the WPIAL Cross Country Championships at Cooper’s Lake, USC had two individuals qualify for the state championship. Freshman Sarah Martin and Senior James Smith finished in the top fifteen as in-dividuals in the Class AAA races to earn the right to represent the WPIAL at the PIAA XC Championships in Hershey, PA.

On November 15, as a climax to International Education Week, numerous performances and exhibits were

presented during the lunch mods at the high school, including these 4th grade Baker Folk Dancers performing

the Korobushka (Russian Dance) taught by Ms. Becky Findley: Samy Tindale, Sophia Dittrich, Aly Childs, Isabelle Yoos, Bailey Dabulis, Bailey Janz, Emma Redlinger, Jess

Christensen, Sarah Christensen and Sydney Waldenmyer.

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Eisenhower’s Fitness Friday and More “Score Big” for Physical Education

At the head of the line, (1) second grade teacher Ms. Cathryn Rodgers and (2) first grade teacher Ms. Amy Beyerl lead their classes during the Ike Crawl.

3) Safety is always foremost in the minds of the staff, parents and students, with the support from the Upper St. Clair Township Police.

Continued on page 18

Eisenhower Elementary Walks a MileStudies indicate that active students do better than

their more sedentary peers. Regular physical activity has been shown to increase concentration and attention, im-prove attendance and increase academic performance. Physically active lifestyles also lead to lower rates of child-hood obesity and related conditions.

With that in mind, physical education teacher Ms. Carol Olack decided last year to start Fitness Friday so that the whole school could start their day by exercising togeth-er via their classroom TVs. To kick-off this year’s Fitness Friday, the Ike Crawl came to fruition.

On October 24 at 10:00 a.m., the whole school, includ-ing staff and administration, left the building and walked one mile through the neighborhood. The classroom teach-ers accompanied each group of students. Ms. Carol Olack led the group while Principal Mark Miller brought up the rear. The Upper St. Clair police were on-hand leading and tailing the group with their lights flashing to ensuring the safety of all participants. Parents and younger siblings were also invited to join in.

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Commendations to Students and Staff!

Sign-up for E-ALERTS to Keep Receiving Important School Notifications

Upper St. Clair School District utilizes a system called E-ALERTS to notify Upper St. Clair families and the community of important news, events, and more from the District.

To receive these alerts via email, it is necessary that you REGISTER and SUBSCRIBE to our E-ALERTS notification system. Then, as a registered user, you will receive any E-ALERTS sent from sites for which you have registered.

If you have never registered for E-ALERTS, it is a two step process ...

1. First of all, you need to REGISTER to create an account using your email address. Once this is done, you will not need to repeat the registration process again.

2. Secondly, you will SIGN IN using the credentials you created in the registration process and then SUBSCRIBE to all the sites and pages in which you have an interest.

However, if you registered previously, you just need to UPDATE your subscriptions – especially to be notified of future issues of our eBLAST publication, which will then be “sent” to you via email. At the very least, subscribe to the USCSD home page.

Visit our website and go to Quick Links for more information about the process. Thanks for your interest in E-ALERTS!

Eisenhower’s Fitness Friday and More “Score Big” for Physical Education (continued from page 17)

Jump Rope for HeartHeart disease is the nation’s No. 1 killer, putting every-

one, including our children, at risk. Jump Rope for Heart is a great way to encourage students to take care of their hearts through physical activity while making a difference in the lives of others.

On October 24, Eisenhower students did “make a difference!” With parents turning the rope, each grade jumped for one hour. Teachers joined in and jumped for the last ten minutes. This year’s event was a RED OUT with all teachers sporting GET FIRED UP t-shirts.

To raise contributions for the American Heart Associa-tion, a form was sent home to all Eisenhower families. The students/parents went online and sent emails asking for donations or brought cash or checks from relatives and neighbors. All students participated, whether they con-tributed or not, and some jumped and sent a donation in memory of a loved one. There were several compa-nies that offered matching donations. The number one “Heart Hero” was Zach Sileo, who collected a grand total of $350.

The total amount of money raised was a record $8,184, an increase over last year’s drive by $3,000. Spe-cial thanks and appreciation go to all of the “heart heroes” who volunteered either by time or donation! You do make a difference.

The PTA assists by arranging for two parents from each classroom to volunteer for the Jump Rope for Heart event,

as shown here helping Ella Bough (4) and Mrs. Carone turning the rope for Marco Carone (5).

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Monthly commendations are archived online on the USCSD home page under “Headlines.” For your convenience, click here to view these commendations.